Quality and safety news - 10 January 2013

Some of the resources linked to are in PDF format - see how to access PDF files.

News highlights are:

Cabinet Office: Mid-Term Review. This review summarises the key points and progress made so far by the coalition government halfway through their term in government. As part of this review, it reflects on the progress made so far in the reforms to the NHS.
RCN: NHS not recognisable in Government report.
RCN: Getting social care funding right is crucial, says RCN.

Care Inspectorate: Online policy/research hub survey. The Care Inspectorate in Scotland is introducing an online policy/research ‘hub’, providing access to research tools and online training, publications and policy updates, as well as a good practice section featuring case studies from a variety of settings. This online survey will inform how the hub is developed. The closing date for responses is 14 January 2013. 

Care Quality Commission (CQC): New Chair of CQC announced. David Prior, who is currently Chairman of the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, is to be the new Chair of the CQC, and will take up his role on 28 January 2013.

DH: Chief Nursing Officer Bulletin. January 2013. The CNO bulletin now provides a new interactive platform, where you can comment on stories and contribute to discussions.

DH: Be food smart campaign. A new campaign from Change4Life exposing the ‘hidden nasties’ in everyday foods and helping people to be ‘food smart’ has launched. Change4Life have joined forces with a range of food manufacturers and ITV to host the first ever health-focused ad break.

DH: Smoking health harm campaign launched. The Department of Health has launched a new campaign to encourage smokers to quit in the New Year. The campaign aims to increase awareness by highlighting the immediate damage being done by every single cigarette. The health harms message focuses on the fact that every 15 cigarettes smoked causes a mutation that can lead to cancer and aims to increase motivation to quit. Smokers will be encouraged to collect a free Quit Kit from their local participating pharmacy to help support their quit attempt.

DHSSPS: Minister announces the development of a regional community resuscitation strategy for Northern Ireland. "Evidence suggests that where there is a high proportion of the population trained in ELS skills the survival rate for those who suffer an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are higher than in areas where the proportion of the population trained in ELS skills is low". A working group is to be established to develop a community resuscitation strategy for Northern Ireland, aimed at coordinating existing resources to maximise the number of individuals trained in ELS skills.

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS): Consultation on treatments available through General Dental Services. This document sets out the proposed changes to treatments available through General Dental Services. These proposals would ensure that treatment provided through GDS is targeted at patients with the greatest need and provided for within the allocated GDS budget. The consultation closes on 3 April 2013.

Diabetes UK: UK has world's 5th highest rate of Type 1 diabetes in children. The UK has the world’s fifth highest rate of Type 1 diagnosis in children aged up to 14, according to a new international league table.

Guardian: What managers can expect in 2013. 'As the NHS prepares for restructuring, health service leaders will experience difficulty, uncertainty and instability'.

Health in Wales: Diabetes Delivery Plan consultation asks what can Wales expect from the NHS? The Welsh Government has launched a consultation to ask for opinions on the delivery of diabetes care in Wales. Together for Health – A Diabetes Delivery Plan will be open to comment for a period of 12 weeks. Tackling diabetes remains a key priority for this Welsh Government. Around 7% of adults in Wales are being treated for diabetes and it is one of the most common chronic diseases in childhood. Incidence rates of type 2 of the disease are increasing as the prevalence of obesity has risen.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland: The management of adverse events: a consultation. This paper poses a number of questions to support successful development and implementation of a national approach to reporting, management and learning from adverse events. The paper aims to facilitate early engagement and discussion on the priorities for the future national approach and does not represent a final model. The consultation closes on 1 March 2013.

Macmillan Cancer Support, DH & Age UK: Cancer Services Coming of Age: Learning from the Improving Cancer Treatment Assessment and Support for Older People Project (PDF 2.7MB). This report outlining what health and social care providers in England must do to improve the treatment and care of older people with cancer. It summarises the findings of five pilot projects set up in England with Age UK and Department of Health to improve the quality of cancer care for older people.
Macmillan Cancer Support Campaign: The age old excuse.
Press release: Ageism in NHS stopping older cancer patients getting treatment.
RCN: Attitudes to older people must change, says RCN.

NHS Commissioning Board (NHS CB): Developing Operational Delivery Networks: The Way Forward. The NHS CB has announced the introduction of Operational Delivery Networks (ODNs) which will complement the newly created Strategic Clinical Networks. Operational Delivery Networks will cover areas such as neonatal intensive care, adult critical care, burns and trauma and are focussed on coordinating patient pathways between providers over a wide area to ensure access to specialist support and expertise.

NHS Confederation: Making sense of the Francis Inquiry – new interactive guide. The NHS Confederation's new interactive guide to the Francis Inquiry provides an overview of the inquiry so far and details the key areas the NHS Confederation expects to be covered in Robert Francis's report.

Northern Ireland Practice and Education Council for Nursing and Midwifery (NIPEC): Recording care: record keeping practice standards consultation. These standards developed from the Recording care: evidencing safe and effective care project and are intended to include all forms of records that nurses, midwives, student nurses or midwives and Health Care Support Workers (HCSWs) within the family of nursing and midwifery will make. The standards are outlined within four statements which are then expanded into a series of key performance indicators against which compliance can be measured. The consultation closes on 25 January 2013.

RCN: Quality care for patients is at the heart of nursing. Providing the best quality care for patients has always been at the heart of nursing, the Royal College of Nursing has said, as Prime Minister David Cameron announced extra support and training for nursing in England.

Scottish Government: Chief Medical Officer Annual Report 2011 - Transforming Scotland's Health. This report describes some of the research that has been carried out over the past few years in some of the poorest areas of Scotland. The research emphasises the complex nature of the problem and underlines the fact that concentrating on conventional risk factors will not be effective."The solution to Scotland’s most pressing problems will require concentrated effort across the whole of Scottish society. It will require new relationships and new ways of working together."

Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE): SCIE and partners to provide NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) announced on 7 January 2013 that the contract to provide the NICE Collaborating Centre for Social Care has been awarded to the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) and partners.